Steelers Love Merchandising

I'm on the Pittsburgh Steelers mailing list, and the team sends out multiple emails per week. During the off season, while many messages focused on the draft (since it was in Pittsburgh), draft picks, free agent signings, the schedule release, and ticket sales, the majority were about various clothing and other gear. Basically, the Steelers were taking a play out of the Spaceballs playbook.

If you want Steelers beach and pool gear, or Steelers' merchandise to celebrate America's 250th birthday, you got an email about it!

But that's not all. How about other opportunities to purchase items from official Steelers partners!

It's really impressive how many partnerships and different types of merchandise the team sells. Now let's see if the Steelers match their output in merchandising with wins on the football field!

The Oldest Trick In The Book

Late in the fourth quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Washington Commanders game, the Steelers had the ball with a slim 28-27 lead. The Steelers ran three straight running plays with Washington using all of its time-outs to stop the clock after each play. The Steelers had 4th-and-1 with 1:02 remaining on Washington's 49 yard line and chose to bring out its offense instead of punting. I said to my kids that the Steelers were going to try to draw Washington offsides because there was no way they would go for it and risk giving Washington the ball only needing about 15 yards to get into field goal range. (I only said the first part.) Everyone knew this. Well, maybe not one person. Let's go to the video.

As the Steelers celebrated the win, all I thought of was this:

Notes From Home

Even before we've been staying at home, but especially since we're here 24/7, I've played a fun game around the house called "Turning Off Lights in Rooms Where There Are No People." I have the high score!

With a free preview of Starz, I recorded several movies. Being the wonderful parent that I am, I let the kids (ages now 9, almost 6, and 2 & 1/2) watch "Spaceballs." There are a few more swear words than I remembered, so I just hope they don’t use them in the coming days. Anyway, my oldest who seemed to be paying attention the most kept asking me if this is the funny part. It probably didn’t help that I tried showing them "Star Wars" twice in the past, but they only made it about 30-45 minutes through and didn’t want to continue. Although my oldest said that he liked the movie and was proud of himself for predicting that Lone Star and Princess Vespa would end up together, he (and they) definitely didn’t get it.

I also recorded Quentin Tarantino’s "Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood." I will not be watching this one with my kids!

I've been on Zoom quite a bit lately. The reason I mention this is because when I look in the mirror, I see some hair on the top of my head. Based on my laptop camera angle, I look pretty bald on the webcam. (Of course, most people probably already think of me as bald/balding.)

Ziggy is going to have plenty of dry food for the next few weeks months years. This is a 16-pound bag!

I miss Wegmans. I generally go there at least once or twice a week, but I haven’t visited since March 17th. We did a pretty good job on stocking up on what we need and have also had groceries delivered. However, we’re going to need Passover food and some prescription refills, so I expect to be back soon.

Speaking of Passover, I don’t know how this is going to work this year. I probably go to grocery stores every day or two during Passover to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. Wegmans usually has a good selection of premade meals too. Frequent trips are not going to happen this year. Without pasta, pizza, chicken nuggets, and our usual breakfast foods (cereal, muffins, bagels, etc.), I also have no idea what the kids will eat. Any Passover food suggestions are greatly appreciated. Complicated recipes with an extensive list of ingredients are not.

Sesame Street Live: A Review

Last month, we took a family trip to George Mason University's Patriot Center to see Sesame Street Live: Make a New Friend. Naturally, I feel the need to share my thoughts about the show and the experience seeing Big Bird, Elmo and company.

- Despite the Steelers playing at 1:00 in Atlanta, somehow Ben Roethlisberger was able to be in Fairfax at noon to see the show.

- The premise of Sesame Street Live: Make a New Friend is that Chamki, apparently a character from the India version of Sesame Street, travels all the way from India just to visit Grover for one day. According to the show, Grover and Chamki met on Fuzzbook, the Monster Social Network. (The joke went over just as well live as it did reading this on the screen.) I understand that this is a show for kids, but travelling across the globe just to get together for one day? Seems like this could be a plot from Avenue Q rather than Sesame Street.

- When the show began, my 3 year-old was focused on the tub of popcorn we bought while my 8 month-old was fascinated by the lights and music, had a huge smile and waved his arms around. Of course, he fell asleep about 15 minutes later.

- With tickets being reasonably priced, I wondered how Sesame Street made it money from the show. The answer: merchandising.



There were Sesame Street pennants, clothing and so much more. At the beginning of intermission, they brought out seemingly hundreds of balloons with Elmo on one side and Grover on the other directly in front of the stage to sell. At the end of intermission, there were maybe a dozen balloons left.

- I was disappointed that Mr. Snuffleupagus wasn't part of the show.

- When exactly did Elmo become the #1 character on Sesame Street? When I was growing up, I think Big Bird was the top seed. I don't even think Elmo was around when I watched Sesame Street as a kid.

- Why does Count Von Count dress significantly better than every other character? He's in a three-piece suit while many of his companions don't even where pants.

- Does GMU security enjoy the crowds at Sesame Street Live compared to those attending a WWE event? There's little chance for a drunken brawl at Sesame Street but all of the kids must present a different type of challenge.

Overall, my 3 year-old enjoyed the show which was the entire reason that we went. 90 minutes including intermission was the perfect amount of time since I don't know how much longer the kids would have lasted beyond that. I'm not sure we're taking this type of family outing anytime soon, but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Merchandising Merchandising

As a soccer referee (and probably every other type of referee), you are required to dress professionally. There is no room for individuality when you put on your yellow shirt and pull up your black socks with white stripes by your knees. Therefore, I was a little surprised when I received the October e-mail from the U.S. Soccer Federation ("USSF") Referee program including a link to Official Sports' Breast Cancer Awareness apparel page. The company is selling various products like wristbands and whistles so that referees can show support of Breast Cancer Awareness month with proceeds to be donated to Stand Up To Cancer.

While I applaud Official Sports for their efforts, I'm a little skeptical about how much will go to Stand Up To Cancer. For example, the wristbands below cost $3.95. Does the entire $3.95 get donated to Stand Up To Cancer or is it a certain percentage? I contacted Official Sports about this and will post the company's reply if I receive one.

I just hope this isn't a case of Official Sports promoting more merchandise!



Please note that I think USSF wouldn't be pleased if referees used a pink whistle or wore pink wristbands once Breast Cancer Awareness month ends. That wouldn't look professional.

Update! I received the following message back from Official Sports

Thank you for your email and inquiry. Official Sports donates 40% of the retail price to Stand Up 2 Cancer.

Is that an appropriate percentage?

Gifford's Good Times Ice Cream Tour

As a global national social-media influencer,* I was invited to attend Gifford's Good Times Ice Cream Tour Ice Cream Social at Dulles Golf Center & Sports Park. As we learned Monday, I am all about free food, so I happily accepted the invitation and took my three-year old son (who I will nickname "The Moose" for a reference that no one will understand) with me. Here are some notes about and pictures of the event.

- Despite having sandwiches and fruit, The Moose was only interested in eating Sun Chips and ice cream. While I'm happy that he enjoyed the ice cream seeing that Gifford's Famous Ice Cream was the reason for this event, I'm not sure I can put "allowed my son to each only chips and ice cream for dinner" on my Father of the Year application.

- I also learned that The Moose is not ready for miniature golf. He seemed to enjoy throwing the golf ball and watching me chase after it much more than hitting the ball.

- Then The Moose turned his attention to the helmets outside the batting cages. Sure he is way too young to enter the batting cages, but the helmets were a huge hit even if they were a little big.

- He reminded me of Dark Helmet.

- I approve of Gifford's Famous Ice Cream. Quite tasty. The only negative is that they didn't bring my personal favorite flavor, mint chocolate chip.

- Lindsay Gifford-Skilling, the General Manager of Giffords, was one of several employees on hand. They are very passionate about their ice cream and the fact that the company is in its 5th generation. Whenever I take a New England trip, I think I'll need to stop at Ben & Jerry's in Vermont and Gifford's Famous Ice Cream in Skowhegan, Maine. Sounds like an awesome trip!

- Besides a fun event, I'm a big fan of receiving free swag which included a Giffords hat and coupons to the Dulles Gold Center & Sports Park.

- Thanks again to Andrea of Real Housewives of Northern Virginia for organizing the event!

* If you question my social-media influencer status, I'll let you know that Sean's Ramblings has almost 20 likes on Facebook. I also have nearly 400 Twitter followers, though many of the followers are probably not real people.

Pirates and Spaceballs (Two To Nothing!)

Driving to Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening with my brother, we were able to listen to the Pirates-Reds Wild Card game on the radio. Thanks to Benstonium, you can hear what we heard matched up with the television highlights. Please note Pirates announcer Greg Brown's call starting around the 1:30 mark and how he says "Two to Nothing." My brother and I said that phrase repeatedly throughout the ride, and knowing us, we'll say two to nothing like that for the next 30 years.



With that, the Pirates-Cardinals series begins on Thursday. I was all ready to share this Spaceballs video with the quote, "We meet again for the first time." In my mind, that's the relationship between the Pirates and Cardinals. They both know each other very well, but the playoff series is a completely different game. Of course, as you can see in the video below, I got the quote wrong. Bill Pullman actually says, "at last, we meet for the first time for the last time." Oh well. I'm sharing the Spaceballs video anyway since it makes me smile. (Oh, bad word at the 1:50 mark.)



Let's Go Bucs!

Steelers Fans Don't Wear Green

I received an e-mail from the NFL promoting Pittsburgh Steelers St. Patrick's Day gear with the following picture.

Although green is my favorite color, if you're a Steelers fan, the only acceptable colors to wear featuring the Steelers logo is black and gold. I'm sure some people might argue that pink is okay since proceeds help fight breast cancer, but take a look at the Steelers Apparel for Woman page on the Steelers store website. Not much pink gear since female Steelers fans wear black and gold.

Therefore, don't give in to this clear marketing gimmick by the Steelers (and more likely the NFL) to sell you green team merchandise.




I also received an e-mail from the Penguins selling St. Patrick's Day items. I'll pass on this too.

Trivia Tuesday

These may be the most random Trivia Tuesday questions ever posted here.

1. Better movie title: Snakes on a Plane or Hot Tub Time Machine?

2. FD 50, RT 90, FD 50, RT 90, PU. Do you know what this is from?

3. Trying to date myself even more, when are the visitors on the new version of V going to start eating mice like they did in the original version?

4. Last week, AMC aired the “premiere” of Spaceballs, a movie at least 20 years old and has been on video, DVD and television for years. Does AMC understand the word premiere?

5. Why does the NCAA Tournament start after 9:30pm Eastern time? I’m too old to stay up that late on a work night.

6. There are dozens languages spoken by humans. Are there also multiple languages “spoken” by birds? For example, can crows and cardinals understand each other? Do birds in Australia and Mexico speak the same language?

7. The New York Yankees have had more 100-win seasons than any other major league baseball team. What team/organization has the 2nd most 100-win seasons? (This is a bit of a trick question.)

8. Let’s say you are flying from the East Coast to the West Coast landing on the West Coast in the evening. Assuming you spent the entire Passover on the East Coast, does Passover end when the sun sets in the East or the West?

I think for this week, it's safe to use the internet for answers. As always, please leave your answers in the comments section below.

Great Mustaches In History: Movember Rolls On

President Skroob


Stanley


Wilford Brimley


Phil Garner


Mario


Sean


My mustache will only be around for another week, so I hope that you consider donating to Movember by clicking on this link. The donations are tax deductible and go to a great cause. In addition, thanks to the folks who have already contributed!

Merchandise, Merchandise, Merchandise

That was quick! At 10:21pm last night, I received the following e-mail from the NHL.com shop with Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Eastern Conference Champions gear:



Unfortunately, I don't see what I'd really like - Eastern Conference Champions: The Flamethrower!